Football Dissected

The U.S. Soccer Federation have taken the initiative finally to set up academies in the US. The only problem is that without relegation and promotion, how will many "soccer" graduates who leave the academies to go and play in the lower leagues like the USL First Division (or A League) and the National Premier Soccer League be able to move up through the ranks to the highest levels like Major League Soccer or even one of Europe's premier leagues?

Also players shouldn't still be in academies when they're 16 or 17. That's the age that they should be breaking through into the first-team of a club. Here's an example: Cesc Fàbregas is now of the one of the best midfielders and passers in world football. He made his debut for Arsenal when he was just player 16 years and 177 days. He's now 20 (soon to be 21 in May). So that's over 4 years of playing first-team football for Arsenal - 4 years of development. Now I know not every youth player is like Fàbregas - he's unique, exceptionally talented and the fact that he was at the Barcelona's famous academy proves what potential he had. But you see the point. 4 years is a long time for development. With the current structure in the US, whereby the majority of professional players have to come through the college system and only start playing professional when they're 21, 22, or even 23, it's no wonder the US hasn't produced a world-class player like Cesc Fàbregas or Lionel Messi.

Academies offer no guarantees of producing players who have the abilities and talents to succeed as a professional, and with the USSF having already set up 63 academies in the past year with more to come, this may seem a huge cost with little rewards. But it is, of course, a step in the right direction.

The US has the potential to have one of the top three leagues in the world, although I don't think they'll ever have the best as I think that distinction will always remain in Europe. And I believe soccer can be the second biggest sport in the country, although I don't think it'll ever supercede the NFL. The US gave us Happy Days and the next 5 to 10 years will tell us if football, sorry, soccer, is going to be singing.